Former Vice Chairman of Inner Mongolia Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Wang Zhonghe, was sentenced to 17 years in prison in the first instance, accused of taking bribes of more than 66.74 million RMB and bribing 2 million RMB. Wang Zhonghe had previously served as the Secretary of the Communist Party Committee in Chifeng and Baotou.
On April 27, the Intermediate People’s Court of Xianning City in Hubei Province publicly pronounced the verdict of corruption and bribery against Wang Zhonghe, former Deputy Secretary and Vice Chairman of the Party Committee of the CPPCC in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Wang Zhonghe was sentenced to 15 years for bribery and 5 years for bribery, totaling 17 years in prison. He was also fined 6.1 million RMB.
The court stated that from the first half of 1999 to the Chinese New Year in 2025, Wang Zhonghe took advantage of his position and the convenient conditions formed by his authority or status to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in matters such as enterprise operation, project contracting, and job adjustments, receiving a total of more than 66.74 million RMB. In the second half of 2012 and 2013, Wang Zhonghe gave a total of 2 million RMB to government officials for the purpose of seeking improper benefits.
In February of last year, Wang Zhonghe was officially arrested, becoming the third high-ranking official in Inner Mongolia to fall from power since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the fifth senior official under Central management to be investigated last year.
According to public records, Wang Zhonghe was born in 1957 in Linxi County, Inner Mongolia, and had worked in Inner Mongolia for a long time. He had served as the Secretary of the Linxi County Party Committee, a member of the Xilin Gol League Party Committee, and the Director of the Organization Department, as well as the Deputy Secretary of the League Committee.
In 2005, Wang Zhonghe was transferred to Deputy Secretary-General of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee. In 2008, he served as the Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Chifeng City, becoming the Secretary of the Chifeng City Party Committee in January 2011. In January 2013, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee and the Secretary of the Chifeng City Party Committee, and in August of the same year, he became the Secretary of the Baotou City Party Committee.
In November 2016, Wang Zhonghe was appointed as a member of the Party Group of the CPPCC in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and in January 2017, he became the Vice Chairman, member of the Party Group, and member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee. In January 2021, he resigned from the position of Vice Chairman and member of the Twelfth Committee of the CPPCC in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.